Over the course of the last two weeks, I’ve found myself oscillating between doing really well and being totally overwhelmed. Some days my anxiety is hardly present in my day to day activities, and other days I find it difficult to keep it in check at all. You may feel something similar as it is a normal response to the stress and uncertainty we are all experiencing.

To counteract this cycle, I’ve been trying to follow a modified version of the Liturgy of the Hours or the Divine Office as it is sometimes called. The version I follow comes from the book, The Paraclete Psalter: A Book of Daily Prayer, which offers Psalms and prayers for Lauds (morning prayer), Noon time, Vespers (evening prayer) and Compline (prayer before bed).

Lent and especially Holy Week has always been very powerful and meaningful time for me. As a child, we attended every high holy day which included a Good Friday Service and the Holy Saturday prayer vigil. My memories of both of these services are filled with darkness. Darkness in the sanctuary. Darkness in nature. And Darkness of the soul.

There was always something about this darkness that felt freeing, illuminating, and powerful. It was as if the light existed in the dark even if you couldn’t see it.

My husband, Tom, went out to get the mail last week and came back with a large, rectangular box. He asked me, “What IS this?” I took one look and knew without opening it - that box held palms for Palm Sunday. I ordered them weeks ago, back when I was still planning for Palm Sunday and Holy Week and Easter in the usual ways. In fact, so much has happened in the intervening weeks, I’d completely forgotten about them until the palms showed up on my doorstep. So much for the benefits of planning ahead this year!

As we look toward Palm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week, I’ve been thinking about the ways in which this particularly difficult Lent has changed me. I’ve read many comments on social media along the lines of, “I never imagined giving up this much for Lent.”

At the end of last week, I patted myself on the back for surviving. I managed to teach my children a few things, work got done, everyone was fed, I learned to make sourdough bread, and I even got some exercise. It was a good week—hard but good.

This week has been the opposite. On Monday, our Governor, Jay Inslee, invoked a Stay at Home order that begins tonight. Yesterday, the parks in the City of Puyallup were closed.

I thought I had been adjusting to the necessary restrictions around COVID-19 coronavirus pretty well. I hadn’t gone overboard into panic buying; I’d been proactive about ways to protect our Summit congregation; we had some Purell and toilet paper at church and at home. I felt like things were somewhat under control. Then I decided to head to the Sumner WinCo at 7 am for groceries on Sunday morning. My sermon was already posted, and if I waited until Sunday night, the store might not have much left. Surely 7 am would be fine. After all, who in their right mind wants to be at WinCo at 7 am on a Sunday morning?

Dear Friends in Christ,

The most common phrase in Scripture is “Do not be afraid.” We hear this phrase whenever we read a text that has messengers or God greeting people for the first time. In this time of uncertainly, we should heed these words and lean on our belief that no matter what we face, God is with us. While we do this, we also need to take precautions to care for the most vulnerable among us.

In responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, my primary concern continues to be for the 80% or more of our congregation that is in the high risk category—over the age of 60 and/or have underlying health issues (i.e. heart issues; chronic respiratory issues; diabetes; suppressed immune systems, etc). If you are in this category, it is highly recommended that you limit your public interaction as much as possible and avoid anyone who is sick.

Dear friends in Christ,

Each day we are learning a little more about the spread of Covid-19 in our state. The staff and leadership of Puyallup UMC are actively monitoring the situation and wanted to send you an update on our plans to respond to this virus.

The Pierce County Health Department reports as of this afternoon that there are no cases of the Covid-19 virus in the county. However, the Washington Department of Health reminds us that the risk of exposure is increasing in Washington state. They suggest that the best way to protect yourselves is by doing the following: